The Effects of Pre‐Reading Study and Reading Exposure on the Learning and Processing of Semi‐Figurative Collocations

Collocations are frequent in English, but collocations with figurative meanings can pose a challenge for second language learners as the individual words do not (fully) contribute to their meaning. However, they have received little attention in previous research. The current study uses eye‐tracking and offline measures (form recall, form recognition, and meaning recognition) to investigate the learning and processing of novel semi‐figurative collocations under three conditions: study‐only (explicit learning of target collocations), reading‐only (the target collocations appeared four times in text), and pre‐reading study plus reading (explicit learning followed by reading). Pre‐reading study plus reading was the most beneficial for the learning of semi‐figurative collocations, followed by reading‐only. The study of collocations during pre‐reading, as indicated by fixation patterns, led to increased attention to collocations in initial reading exposures. Greater attention in explicit exposures (i.e., pre‐reading study) improved form recall and meaning recognition of the collocations, while greater attention in incidental exposures improved form recognition.